Polio immunisation challenges be seriously taken: minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar, while chairing a meeting at the Health Services Academy, appreciated the performance of the academy in the field of public health. While reviewing the performance of the institution, she appreciated the fact that financial audits carried out by the HSA on her directions in previous meeting, shows no audit objections which depict a robust financial control in the academy. The minister directed the academy to award scholarships to the students from its own sources but to ensure a transparent mechanism, which should not only be merit based but also need based to ensure that the candidates from the rural and remote areas get equal opportunity to avail higher education. While discussing the MDGs, she emphasised the need for establishing an information management mechanism in the academy for analysing the data from the provinces that would feed in policy making forums at the national level. She said that the immunisation and challenges associated with the polio cases in the country should be seriously taken, pointing out the need to develop the capacity of the public sector to strengthen the supply chain management system. She suggested that the HSA should take a lead in providing trainings in this area.